


Strong

by AmyNChan



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: But mainly family stuffs, Gen, I love Nathalie acting like this, Tiny bit of Adrienette, woke up thinking about this and had to write it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-23
Updated: 2017-04-23
Packaged: 2018-10-23 00:53:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10708731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmyNChan/pseuds/AmyNChan
Summary: Nathalie takes a moment to tell Adrien something important.





	Strong

She’d known this conversation was a long time coming.  After years of looking after the boy, after watching over him and out for him through his highs and lows, after everything, she knew that this conversation was a long time coming.

She’d put it off as long as she could, quite literally to the last second in a rare move of procrastination.  But she could hold it off no longer.

“Adrien,” stated the woman, watching his face for any change in expression.  There was very little, only a tiny telling quirk to say he was listening.  From boyhood, that tell had never changed.  She hoped it never would.  “I know it’s not my place—”

“Nathalie, I asked you to be here,” interrupted Adrien gently.  “You belong here.  It’s your place if only you want it.”

Nathalie nodded in understanding.  The gesture was sweet, touching in this moment, but she had words to tell this boy.  And she would say them.

“Your mother would be so proud of you,” stated the woman.  Another of Adrien’s tells showed.  Surprise.  He really oughtn’t have been.  He had to have seen this coming, especially now.  “Your life has not been easy, and it would have been simple to fall into dark emotions or to cut them away from your being entirely.  But you haven’t.  Instead, you’ve grown into someone who cares wholly and completely, and she would be proud of that and all you’ve accomplished.”

Adrien stared at her dumbly.  He may have expected a reminder about what he had lost, but not _now_ in front of _people_.  Despite their conversation being whispered, this was personal information, the likes of which Nathalie _never_ discussed in any sort of public.  They moved to the left.

Another of his tells.  Joy.  Genuine joy.  And a bit of sorrow in the way his face moved, but joy nonetheless.  Perhaps she should have told him this earlier, before the big hurdle of the day.

“Thank you, Nathalie,” said the boy.  _Her_ boy.  “I think I needed to hear that today.”

The woman said nothing for a few moments, wondering if she ought to go on with what she had to say.  He seemed content enough with her words, and she wondered if telling him the last would be emotionally uplifting or burdening.  The choice was maddening.

“What is it?  Your lip’s twitching like you want to tell me something,” asked Adrien.  Nathalie allowed herself a smirk.  He knew a few of her tells.  Hard not to after years of living in the same house.

Nathalie debated for a moment longer before relenting.  This would be her last chance for a while, and she owed it to Adrien to be honest.  At least for now.

“I’m proud of you, too.”

She dared herself to look at his face, to consider him as an equal.  Not the young boy she had been conned into minding for years.  Not the employer that was somehow kind to her.  No, she had to consider him as an equal for now, if only to get the words out.  They moved to the right.

“Lesser people than you would have—no, they _have_ broken.  When I met you, you seemed so emotionally frail.  I was concerned that you would break, too.  I tried to ensure that wouldn’t happen, but during that first few years my main priority was to keep my job.  After a while, right under my own nose, you grew stronger, more balanced and stable.  Your emotions stopped becoming your breaking point and became your strength.  I’ve never seen someone grow as wholly and completely as you given the circumstances you’ve endured.

“You’ve become a strong young man, and I think you’re ready for this.  And I am proud of how much you’ve grown.”

Their time in this particular spotlight was drawing to a close and Nathalie hoped that her words would take root.  She would never wish upon him the fate of his parents.  Never to be exploited and used as Mme. Agreste was.  Never to shut down and lash out as M. Agreste had.  Adrien’s life was beginning anew again, and Nathalie would do what she could to give him the start he required.

When the two stopped moving, she really should have seen it coming.  Adrien had always been expressive, so a hug shouldn’t have been such a surprise.  But she somehow was shocked when the boy leaned slightly over to envelop her smaller frame into a hug.  Awkwardly, she returned it.  She had never been a hugger.

“Thank you, Nathalie,” he whispered.  “For everything.”

The hug lasted a moment more before he pulled away.  It was at that moment that the crowd around them erupted into applause and the DJ, Adrien’s friend from lycreé, announced that both the father-daughter and mother-son dances were over and that everyone could not hit the dance floor.  Nathalie pulled away slightly.

“Now, you better find your bride.  I’m sure she’ll be waiting for a dance and Agreste men do not make their women wait,” said Nathalie, lecturing him as though he were on a schedule.  Adrien, understanding her ribbing, grinned.

“Too bad I’m a Dupain-Cheng, then huh?” laughed the boy as he turned and disappeared into the crowd.  Nathalie let him go, a small smile on her face.

That boy was going to be just fine.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, Adrien asked Nathalie to fill in for the mother/son dance at the reception of his wedding. Nathalie is his new mom, fite me.


End file.
